Weekly Review
Newsletter - 10/17/2022

Week of October 10, 2022 in Review

Inflation was hotter than anticipated in September while initial unemployment claims are trending higher. Here are the key details:

  • Consumer Inflation Remains Hot But Is Hope Ahead?
  • Producer Inflation Also Higher Than Expectations
  • Fed Minutes Convey Hawkish Tone
  • Initial Jobless Claims Rise for Second Consecutive Week

Consumer Inflation Remains Hot But Is Hope Ahead?

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation on the consumer level, showed that inflation increased by 0.4% in September, double the amount economists expected. On an annual basis, inflation declined from 8.3% to 8.2%, though this was also above estimates.

The real story here…

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By: Melissa Dittmann Tracey

Find out what designers say, and consumer surveys show are becoming tiresome trends in the home.

 

Every year, there are new and evolving home design fads that should “scare” you to death. Last year, there were moss-covered accent walls (gasp!), acrylic furniture (shriek!) and Tuscan-style kitchens (yelp!). This year, it’s the “cloffice”—a pandemic-era closet-turned-office—and many others. With Halloween around the corner, Styled Staged & Sold presents its annual countdown of the top 10 home trends of 2022 that are haunting our nightmares.

10. The classic farmhouse look

Many designers have called for the modern farmhouse trend to be put out to…

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The only thing scarier than paying too high of a commission to sell your home… Is realizing that you don’t have too while getting even MORE service and support than most brokerages offer at a higher fee!

The Cascade Team Agents are Full Service. We are a real estate company like no other, because of the tools, service and savings we provide our clients with. We understand that in today’s fast paced environment, we need to provide a high level of service, utilize technology to keep our clients up to date at all times and provide added value to both buyers and sellers in the transaction. By leveraging these technological tools, it allows our agents to focus more of their time to servicing our clients, and also provide the most comprehensive…

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Weekly Review
Newsletter - 10/11/2022

Week of October 3, 2022 in Review

There were some mixed messages from the labor sector while annual home price appreciation is slowing but still significant. Here are last week’s key stories:

  • The Real Scoop on September’s Job Gains
  • Private Payrolls Showed Job Growth Picked Up in September
  • Labor Market Starting to Show Signs of Pressure
  • Annual Home Price Appreciation Slowing But Still Significant
  • OPEC+ Announced Deep Cut in Oil Production

The Real Scoop on September’s Job Gains

 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there were 263,000 jobs created in September. This was just above expectations of 250,000 new jobs, but it was the smallest monthly gain in the last…

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I personally would say “Hell No” to this rate. Up or down a fraction of a percentage please before I locked this one in!

The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.66% this week, down from 6.70% one week ago, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac reported on Thursday. Last year at this time, the typical rate was 2.99%.

The interest rate on the most popular home loan in America has fallen for the first time in seven weeks, ending a streak that pushed borrowing costs to their highest point since 2007.

Yet even with the decline, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is still more than double what it was last year.

 

Unfortunately for borrowers, this week’s dip was just a small step back after a headlong sprint forward.

Despite a…

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Looking for something a little “Extra” in your next home? Perhaps bats in the belfries, a strange thumping sounds in the walls, on voices from the basement? Well then you’re in luck… Just in time for Halloween The Cascade Team Real Estate presents our Haunted House Hunting Checklist!  

While some unexpected ghosts may come with a house, most of the surveyed consumers agree on one thing: They prefer to live in a home that is ghost-free. They’re much more willing to live next to a haunted house, though. Nearly 43% of respondents were willing to live next to a house they believed is haunted.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents say they had a feeling the home they wanted to buy was haunted, but they decided to move in anyway, the survey showed.…

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As real estate and real estate-related companies continue to cut their workforces, it's become clear that it's no mirage -- the housing market is indeed cooling. Another sign? The real estate giant Redfin has experienced a nearly 92% drop in stock value since last year.

While homes are still more expensive today than they were before COVID-19 changed the world, demand is slowing, and prices are dropping. Redfin recently released data showing which markets are cooling at the fastest rate. What was a seller's market is quickly flipping to a buyer's market in these areas of the country:

Rank

Metro Area

Median Sale Price

1

Seattle, Washington

$774,950

2

Las Vegas,…

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Weekly Review
Newsletter - 10/03/2022

Week of September 26, 2022 in Review

It was a roller-coaster week in the markets, filled with reports on inflation, GDP, home sales and home price appreciation. Here are the key details:

  • Consumer Inflation Remains Elevated
  • Signed Contracts on Existing Homes Fall for Third Straight Month
  • New Home Sales Surprise in August
  • Annual Home Price Appreciation Declining But Still Strong
  • GDP Negative for Two Consecutive Quarters
  • Labor Market Remains Tight

Consumer Inflation Remains Elevated

The Fed’s favorite measure of inflation, Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), showed that inflation rose 0.3% in August, which was higher than expectations. The year over year reading declined from…

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You may be aware of a new rule change from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). While it’s a confusing topic for both consumers and real estate agents alike, The Cascade Team has put together some Questions and Answers on the topic.

What is a “Fair” amount to pay for real estate compensation?

“Fair” is whatever you and the agent decide is fair, and just as you are not under any obligation to pay more than you want, the agent is not under any obligation to do business with you if they are not going to earn what they expect.

The Cascade Team will charge a total of 2% compensation to sell your home if the buyer comes unrepresented.

This includes…

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You may be aware of a new rule change from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). While it’s a confusing topic for both consumers and real estate agents alike, The Cascade Team has put together some Questions and Answers on the topic.

 

 

Why was this rule change put into effect?

For more than 30 years, the compensation framework in the real estate industry was structured for the seller to pay the listing firm and for the listing firm to "share" its compensation with the buyer brokerage firm.  This framework was a vestige from "sub-agency" where every broker represented the seller and brokers did not work directly for the buyer. …

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